It’s been two weeks now since the U-19 World Cup began in South Africa, with the Super Sixes already underway at the moment, and it’s only a matter of time before the knockouts begin.
The group stages witnessed defending champions India and tournament hosts South Africa top their respective groups along with former champions Australia and Pakistan. It also witnessed Nepal edge Afghanistan out in thrilling fashion to earn a place in the Super Sixes — in which 12 teams divided into two pools fight it out for the four semi-final spots.
The Super Sixes began on Tuesday, 30 January with the Uday Saharan-led Indian team thrashing New Zealand by a whopping 214 runs to underline their status as strong favourites to successfully retain their title and win the tournament for a record-extending sixth time.
Pakistan and West Indies would register victories on the same day, beating Sri Lanka and Ireland respectively. Australia would then thrash Ashes rivals England the following day, with South Africa and Bangladesh also collecting wins against neighbouring nations Zimbabwe and Nepal respectively.
Six matches have taken place so far in the second round of the U-19 World Cup, and another six are set to take place on Friday and Saturday, with the semi-finals getting underway from Tuesday, 6 February. Teams such as India, Pakistan and Australia are yet to lose a game so far in the tournament, but none of the teams have officially clinched a semi-final spot yet.
Super Sixes, Group 1:
Both India and Pakistan, who had squared off in the final of the 2006 edition where the latter won a low-scoring thriller, are strong favourites to qualify for the semi-finals after having not lost a single game so far.
India face Nepal on Friday while Pakistan are up against Bangladesh, and a victory will help them seal their place in the last four, with the ‘Colts in Blue’ currently favoured to finish top of their group given their superior Net Run Rate.
Between Nepal and Bangladesh, however, only the latter has a realistic chance at making the knockouts given they find themselves at the third spot and a victory over Pakistan could land them a top-two finish in Group 1. For that to happen, however, the 2020 U-19 world champions will have to defeat Pakistan convincingly to surpass them on NRR.
New Zealand, like Nepal and Ireland, are as good as eliminated, especially after their disastrous loss against India, and will likely play for pride in their final game against Ireland on Saturday.
Super Sixes, Group 2:
Three-time world champions Australia currently are favourites to top Group 2 and like India and Pakistan, are in the middle of an unbeaten run. They further underlined their status as one of the frontrunners to challenge India for the title with a 110-run hammering of England on Wednesday, and a victory over the West Indies on Friday should seal their place in the semi-finals.
Should Australia lose, however, they will still be in contention for a place in the semis but will then be dependent on the result of the match between South Africa and Sri Lanka — the nation that was originally supposed to host the tournament before ICC suspended Sri Lanka Cricket. Should the Proteas win that fixture, they finish level with Australia and West Indies on six points with NRR then deciding which teams advance to the next stage.
In either case, Australia have the best Net Run Rate after India at present and as long as they don’t suffer a defeat by humongous proportions, they should be through.
Sri Lanka have a slim chance at making the semi-finals. For that to happen, however, not only will they have to defeat South Africa, but will also have to hope Australia defeat the West Indies. That will lead to another three-way tie involving the Proteas and the Windies, this time on four points with Sri Lanka where NRR once again decides which team finishes at the second spot.
England could qualify for the semi-finals in a similar manner, given they have as many points as Sri Lanka, but their NRR could be a major reason for worry. They will have to thrash Zimbabwe, who are out of contention, by a big margin on Saturday and hope other results go their way.